Then we'd take their
cannon, their money, their ammunition, and everything they had that was
worth carrying away. As for the others, we chucked 'em into the water,
walloped 'em on the mountains, snapped 'em up in the air, devoured 'em
on the ground, and beat 'em everywhere. So at last our troops were in
fine feather--especially as Napoleon, who had a clever wit, made friends
with the inhabitants of the country by telling them that we had come to
set them free; and then, of course, they gave us quarters and took the
best of care of us. And it was not only the men: the women took care of
us too, which showed their good judgment!
Well, it finally ended in this way: in Ventose, 1796,--which was the
same time of year that our March is now,--we were penned up in one
corner of the marmot country: but at the end of the first campaign, lo
and behold! we were masters of Italy, just as Napoleon had predicted.
And in the month of March following--that is, in two campaigns, which we
fought in a single year--he brought us in sight of Vienna.
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